Skylights and rooflights for the stone houses and farm conversions around Penistone

How the rain is kept out

The frame sits on timber trimmed into the rafters, and a flashing kit made for the roof covering is laid round it. Water coming down the slope runs onto the flashing and round the frame, and the slates or tiles above are cut and lapped over the top of it. On a roof where driven rain is common, that lapping is done with care at the top corners of the frame.

Keeping the heat in

Part L caps the heat a new roof window may lose at 1.4 W/m²K, with a cap of 2.2 for a rooflight. Extra panes, warm spacers at the glass edge, argon or krypton between the panes and a coating that bounces heat back all help a unit reach those figures, and a thermally broken frame helps too. An old single-glazed unit in a stone house loses far more.

What the roof is made of

The roofs are stone slate or Welsh slate on the older houses and concrete tile on later ones. Stone slate is thick and heavy and is lifted by hand; slate is thin and can crack. We note the covering and its condition so the flashing suits it.

Choosing the slope on an exposed house

Where a room could take its light from either side of the ridge, the slope that faces into the weather gets driven rain and the sheltered slope does not. We weigh that against the room below and the line of the roof, because the sheltered side is often the better home for a unit and is usually the one that faces away from the road as well.

What the council needs to hear

For an ordinary house the planning side is simple, but a conservation area, a listed building or a flat changes the position. Barnsley Council is the authority to approach for Penistone, and the rules on planning and Building Regulations for a skylight list the conditions.

Finishing the opening inside

Under a thick stone roof the lining of the opening is deeper than in a modern house, and it is insulated and plastered so the reveal does not become a cold spot. The floor and furniture are sheeted while the work goes on, and the room is left ready for paint.

Condensation on a cold pane

On a cold morning, moisture can collect on the inside of a single-glazed unit. A better-insulated unit keeps the inner pane warmer, which is one reason people upgrade in colder houses. Fogging between two panes is different, and means the seal has failed.

Lanterns and permission

A lantern often falls outside Class C, because it climbs well past the 150mm limit. Either the barn's own permission covers it, or Barnsley Council is asked. A converted building may have had permitted development rights restricted when it was converted, so we check the planning history before anything is drawn.

A big opening in an old roof

A large rooflight alters the roof structure, and the work is notifiable building work. In a barn the rafters may be heavy timbers set wide apart, or modern ones put in during conversion, and the opening is framed to suit whichever you have.

Where the light is wanted

The far wall is the dim one, but a rooflight placed right against it can throw glare along the stone. A position a little in from the wall lights the floor and the table, and the stone catches the light as it spreads. We mark the spot on the plan before any cutting, with the layout of the kitchen in mind.

Glass and glare

A tall room with big glazing can gain heat on sunny days. A solar-control coating limits that, and an opening unit can send warm air out through the roof. The coating is picked for the room and the direction it faces.

Reaching a barn roof

A barn roof is often long and high, with ground that slopes away around it. We plan the ladder or platform for the eaves height and the ground, protect the roof covering where we step, and carry the unit up in a way that does not strain the frame.

Tidy edges inside

A deep opening through a thick roof build-up leaves a wide reveal, which is plastered to a clean edge. In a room with a high ceiling, a tower or platform is set up inside to reach it, and the floor is sheeted underneath.

Bringing power to the roof

The unit needs a power supply, so a cable has to reach the ceiling beside the opening. The cable route is planned before the opening is cut, usually through the loft from a nearby circuit, and kept out of sight in the ceiling or the wall.

Solar and manual alternatives

Some units run on solar power and need no cable. Others are opened with a pole. Which one fits depends on the roof, the height and whether mains power is close, and each has its own page in our comparison of electric, solar and manual rooflights.

The roof above a tall stair

The roof above a stair in a stone house is often a pitched slate or stone slate roof, and the unit sits in the slope above the landing. A stair has the advantage that the shaft below is open, so the light drops through every floor. Chimney stacks and party walls limit where the frame can go, so we find a clear stretch of rafters.

Choosing the size

A stair is narrow, so a unit wider than the shaft below gains nothing. The length matters more than the width, because it lets light fall down the flights in sequence. The unit and its size are named in the written quote, and the opening is framed to suit the rafters.

Working above the stair

A high stair is awkward to work above. We use a platform tower set up on the stair, with boards on the treads, and everything is sheeted before the ceiling is opened.